Leeds Festival Chorus, BBC Philharmonic, Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 26th November 2016

THE title for the composition that Rossini described as "the last mortal sin of my old age" is ironic: Petite Messe Solennelle (Little Solemn Mass) runs for over eighty minutes and is predominantly buoyant and cheerful.

Simon Wright, conducting the BBC Philharmonic, admirably captured the jaunty mood of the opening Kyrie Eleison; the strings were warm and eloquent in the Gloria. This movement introduced the four vocal Soloists of whom tenor Peter Auty and bass Henry Waddington projected their roles most effectively. Waddington's smooth dark timbre and elegant phrasing infused his rich musical line in Quonian tu solus Sanctus (For Thou only art holy). The taxing high notes of Auty's solo in Rossini's hysterical Domine Deus, Rex Coelestis (O Lord God, Heavenly King) were surmounted with relish. Soprano Lucy Hall and mezzo Kathryn Rudge's warmth and purity of line beautifully melded in the Qui tollis peccata mundi (Thou that takest away the sins of the world) but Rudge's lovely solo in the Agnes Dei (O Lamb of God) would have been scarcely audible unless you were sitting in the front stalls.

This Mass is a big sing for any choir; fortunately the great Leeds Festival Chorus has both the stamina and the musicality for such an assignment. Beauty of timbre and unanimity of projection was always evident. Diction was excellent in every section and the voices were responsive to each other. There was trendendous rhythmic energy in the extended fugues and in a breathtakingly fast Cum Sancto Spirito (With the Holy Ghost).

Operatic lollipops in the first part of the concert included Verdi's Overture The Sicilian Vespers and a soulful performance of Verdi's Va Pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves). Peter Auty's interpretation of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot followed by Franco Alfano's blazing choral and orchestral conclusion to the opera raised the roof!

by Geoffrey Mogridge